Aralez (ARLZ) is a global specialty pharmaceutical company focused on delivering meaningful products to improve patients’ lives while creating shareholder value by acquiring, developing and commercializing products primarily in cardiovascular, pain and other specialty areas. Its parent corporation, Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc., was incorporated under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act (“BCBCA”) on December 2, 2015. its global headquarters is located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, its U.S. headquarters is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, and its Irish headquarters is located in Dublin, Ireland. Aralez was formed for the purpose of facilitating the business combination of POZEN Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Pozen”), and Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., a corporation incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada (“Tribute”), which transaction closed on February 5, 2016.

On February 5, 2016, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Arrangement between Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pozen, Tribute and other related parties (as amended, the “Merger Agreement”), Aralez completed the acquisition of Tribute by way of a court approved plan of arrangement in a stock transaction with a purchase price of $137.6 million made up of  $115.1 million related to Tribute shares, equity awards and certain warrants outstanding and (ii) $22.5 million in repayments of Tribute indebtedness. In connection with the transaction, Pozen and Tribute were combined under and became subsidiaries of Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc., with Pozen treated as the acquiring company for accounting purposes (the “Merger”). Pursuant to Rule 12g-3(a) under the Exchange Act, Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the successor issuer to Pozen. The Merger provides the combined company with increased financial strength and product portfolio diversity and is expected to meaningfully accelerate its operating strategies.

On September 6, 2016, Aralez Pharmaceuticals Trading DAC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aralez (“Aralez Ireland”), acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to Zontivity (vorapaxar) pursuant to an asset purchase agreement with Schering-Plough (Ireland) Company, an Irish private unlimited company and an affiliate of Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”). Zontivity represents an addition to its product portfolio in cardiovascular disease and is the first and only approved therapy shown to inhibit the protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), the primary receptor for thrombin, which is considered to be the most potent activator of platelets.

On September 15, 2016, the company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approved Yosprala (aspirin and omeprazole) for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in patients at risk for aspirin-associated gastric ulcers.

On October 31, 2016, Aralez Ireland acquired the U.S. rights to Toprol-XL (metoprolol succinate) and the currently marketed authorized generic (the “AG”) pursuant to an asset purchase agreement (the “Toprol-XL Asset Purchase Agreement”) entered into between AstraZeneca AB (“AstraZeneca”), Aralez Ireland and Aralez Pharmaceuticals Inc. Toprol-XL is a cardioselective beta-blocker indicated for the treatment of hypertension, alone or in combination with other antihypertensives; the long term treatment of angina pectoris and treatment of stable, symptomatic (NYHA class II or III) heart failure of specific origins. Toprol-XL and the AG further expands its cardiovascular portfolio.